Volkswagen repositioning may take two-three years: CEO in Wirtschaftswoche

BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen is facing a time-consuming overhaul as the carmaker adopts a new company structure and adjusts the strategy of its brands in the wake of an emissions scandal, German magazine Wirtschaftswoche quoted Chief Executive Matthias Mueller as saying.

“The repositioning of the group will certainly take between two and three years and is no child’s play,” Mueller told the weekly publication in an interview published on Wednesday.

Mueller said he wants VW to try to overtake rivals in profitability rather than keep pushing volume, which under his predecessor Martin Winterkorn doubled to more than 10 million cars sold last year.

“This peering at unit sales and new sales records makes little sense from my point of view,” the CEO said.

Mueller, who will travel to the United States this week for the first time since VW’s emissions scandal broke nearly four months ago, said he will try to continue the diesel offensive in the world’s second largest auto market, despite the headwinds.